FLORENCE, SC — Junior forward Kim Roach posted her first double-double of the year with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds and freshman guard Camille Dash added a career-high 14 points to carry Francis Marion University to a 78-73 Peach Belt Conference victory over Georgia Southwestern State University, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 12) in women's basketball action.

FMU improves to 7-5 overall and 2-4 in the PBC, now tied for third in the East Division standings.  The Patriots will conclude their three-game home stand with a 5:30 p.m. tilt against Armstrong Atlantic State University on Thursday.

Roach came off the FMU bench to connect on 6-of-9 field goals attempts and was a perfect 5-for-5 at the foul line.  Dash also hauled down a career-high six rebounds, while scoring in double digits for the third time in the last four contests.

Sophomore point guard Briana Robinson added nine points and eight assists, while senior Kristen Dickerson also tallied nine points.

Sophomore guard Danisha Green led Georgia Southwestern (3-9, 1-4) with a career-high 29 points on 11-of-13 shooting before fouling out.  She also recorded six steals.

Francis Marion was 7-of-8 at the free throw line in the final minute to hold off the Hurricanes, who had cut a 15-point halftime margin to three (71-68) on a fast-break layup by Shaniece Sheffield.

GSW took an early 10-5 advantage, but Francis Marion responded with a 23-2 run over an eight-minute span to take a 28-12 lead.  Junior guard Erin Pinkett finished the spurt with three-pointers on back-to-back possessions.  The margin grew to 18 points on two occasions before the Patriots settled for a 15-point cushion at intermission, 43-28.

The Hurricanes quickly whittled the deficit to under 10 points early in the second stanza.  A pair of charity tosses by Roach pushed the lead back to 13 points at 52-39 with 14:52 remaining.  A inside basket by Green trimmed the margin to 57-52 at the 8:38 mark.  A fast-break lay-in by Stormey Smith further cut the margin to four, 63-59, but Dickerson canned a jumper and Dee Gray drained two free throws to extend the Patriot advantage to eight points with five minutes on the clock.

In the final minute, a three-pointer by Kayla Dayton brought the Hurricanes to within two points at 75-73 with nine seconds left, but Jasmine Williams-Hayes hit the first of two foul shots and Roach grabbed the offensive rebound on the second-attempt miss allowing Robinson to hit a pair of free throws with two ticks remaining to seal the win.

Francis Marion shot 42.6 percent from the floor and was 23-of-30 at the foul line.  Contrastingly, GSW was only 13-of-22 at the stripe.  FMU also outrebounded the Hurricanes 44-30 and held an 18-5 advantage in second-chance points.  The Patriot bench also contributed 48 points to the victory.

1/12/13 1:30 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 78, GA. SOUTHWESTERN ST. 73

GA. SOUTHWESTERN ST. (3-9 , 1-4 PBC)
Danisha Green 11-13 6-7 29; Shaniece Sheffield 3-9 5-9 12; Jasmine McSwain
4-11 1-2 10; Kayla Dayton 4-9 0-0 9; Stormey Smith 2-4 0-2 4; Danyelle Jones
1-2 1-2 3; Kelli Morrow 1-1 0-0 2; Kabrina Merriweather 1-6 0-0 2; Briana
Walker 1-2 0-0 2; Ottishia Burden 0-2 0-0 0; Kwante'sha Love 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 28-60 13-22 73.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (7-5 , 2-4 PBC)
Kim Roach 6-9 5-5 17; Camille Dash 6-14 1-2 14; Kristen Dickerson 3-10 3-4
9; Briana Robinson 3-6 3-3 9; Jas. Williams-Hayes 2-6 3-5 7; Erin Pinkett
2-4 1-2 7; Dee Gray 1-7 4-4 6; Jalyn McDowell 2-2 2-3 6; Tiara Gause 1-3 1-2
3; DeAsia Toney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 23-30 78.
Halftime: Francis Marion 43 Ga. Southwestern 28
3-point goals--Ga. Southwestern St. 4-17 (Shaniece Sheffield 1-4; Kayla
Dayton 1-3; Danisha Green 1-2; Jasmine McSwain 1-4; Kabrina Merriweather
0-2; Briana Walker 0-1; Danyelle Jones 0-1), Francis Marion University 3-8
(Erin Pinkett 2-4; Camille Dash 1-3; Briana Robinson 0-1). Fouled out--Ga.
Southwestern St.-Danisha Green, Francis Marion University-Camille Dash.
Rebounds--Ga. Southwestern St. 30 (Kabrina Merriweather 6), Francis Marion
University 44 (Kim Roach 12). Assists--Ga. Southwestern St. 16 (Stormey
Smith 5), Francis Marion University 17 (Briana Robinson 8). Total fouls--Ga.
Southwestern St. 24, Francis Marion University 18. Technical fouls--None. A-620

Charges drawn: Walker, Merriweather, Williams-Hayes